


Ti Voglio Bene

by delorita, JC Oakenshield (SilverFountains)



Category: Da Vinci's Demons
Genre: Affection, Asexuality Spectrum, Denial of Feelings, M/M, Missing Scene, Religious Guilt, Rough Kissing, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, sword fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:27:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8920609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delorita/pseuds/delorita, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverFountains/pseuds/JC%20Oakenshield
Summary: Series 4 opening scene?After killing Pope Sixtus IV Girolamo Riario awaits his fate as God decides. But he had not expected this to come in the form of Leonardo da Vinci, the man who still manages to confuse his feelings like no other.





	

He knows they will come. It's not a question of if but when. He only wonders who will be first. The papal guard to drag him away in chains - those who did not yet lay dead in their own blood - or the Archangel Gabriel himself to reward him for executing God's vengeance.

He pops another grape into his mouth and chews contemplatively. He glances at the pile on the floor beside him. The lifeless form of the one who was once the most powerful man in Rome, if not the whole of Italy. His nemesis. His demon. Reduced to nothing more than bones and what soon will be rotting flesh.

His previous killings he had graced with ritual and symbolism. Positioning them meticulously like grotesque sculptures. The art of death. Even Da Vinci had recognised his designs. The remorse of the saint.

Not this time. There is no guilt. No apology. This is the what all the roads have led to. Never before had he felt such peace in his very core. All his endeavours make absolutely sense now, each previous sacrifice leading to this glorious moment of closure.

He sips the outrageously expensive wine from his father's cup, savouring the slightly sour taste on his tongue. No, not his father anymore. He's an orphan at his own hands. He has no father other than his Father in Heaven. _Hallowed be Thy name…_ He quickly crosses himself, waiting …

Suddenly he can hear them approach, footsteps rapidly tapping across the marble. He straightens himself, brushes down his tunic. Whoever is coming for him, he will face God's next challenge with his head held high.

+++

Leonardo stops in his tracks as soon as he sees the scene he’d pretty much expected; he’s not surprised at all. His eyes flit from the lifeless body on the floor to the man at the end of the fully laden table a few times.

He quickly turns to lock the big doors then his gaze locks onto Riario’s across the large expanse of the Pope’s dining room.  


“You got to your goal after all then,” Leonardo says under his breath, studying Riario’s calm posture and demeanour, not sure if the other wants to stay and be denounced for the murder of pope Sixtus IV or if he plans an escape. He crosses his arms over his chest, waiting.

“Artista!” Riario jumps to his feet, a smile painted on his face. “This is a surprise.” He picks up an apple from the table and takes a bite, striding over to the other man. He puts an arm around his shoulders in a brotherly fashion, his wicked side clearly still dominant. “Now where have you been, maestro?”

Leonardo looks at Riario sideways, a little warily. “Defeating our _other_ enemy,” he says sharply. He turns and gaps both shoulders of the count, “Do you deem it wise to stay here and make idle conversation? We both know that Sixtus was an arse and you may have done the world a favour here, but there are a lot of people who will not agree with that…” His mind is doing the mathematics and statistics already, working out every flight path there might be; through the archives, through the pool, beneath the water, maybe even out front, taking out the guards in unison. He smirks at the thought.

Riario throws a dismissive glance at the body on the floor again. He thumbs the heavy papal ring on his finger, then smiles at Leonardo. “Do you know what happened to me?” he asks calmly.

"I have a vague idea," Leonardo answers distractedly. Then a thought shoots through his head, "Don't tell me you want to be arrested and hanged for this?"

Riario laughs at that and sits back down at the head of the table, motioning for the war engineer to take a seat too. “I already was,” he smiles as he begins to butter a bread roll. “Not for this of course. The others. Clarice, the Mother of Florence,” he mocks. “And as I stood on the scaffold, listening to Il Magnifico condemn me, He,” he motions towards the large carving of the Savior on the Cross above the doors,” sent his messenger to tell everyone who I am.” He takes a bite, chewing slowly, watching Leonardo closely.

“You are Girolamo Riario,” Leonardo raises a concerned eyebrow, wondering about the state of the other man's mental health again. “Captain General…”

“I am the Sword of God!” Riario snaps, plunging his knife into the wood of the table, where it stands quivering.

 _The Sword of God?_ Leonardo has a hard time not to roll his eyes. He hesitantly takes a seat, though, knowing that staying calm around Riario when he's in his dangerous state is best, whilst his ears are working overtime to figure out if the guards or anyone else is coming, “You were about to be hanged before?” he asks. “Why? What happened while we _enlightened_ Turks?”

Riario cocks his head slightly. “I handed myself in. I told Lorenzo I had killed that fickle wife of his. And the others,” the count narrates calmly, keeping his dark eyes trained on Leonardo as he pries the knife back out of the high polished wood. “I repented, Leonardo. I was ready to face my judgement. But He would not take my life. For I had not yet finished the task He'd given me.”

Leonardo’s eyes grow wide at that, needing a moment to let all that information sink in. Then he shakes his head. _Of course the saint would hand himself in, feeling guilty and that he deserves punishment._

“And killing Sixtus was your task? You wait for your judgement now?” Leonardo asks agitatedly, getting up again, kneeling down beside the body on the floor and checking if Riario really did fulfill that task. _No pulse. Definitely dead._ He looks up questioningly, wishing he could have witnessed what had been going on in Rome while he was on the battlefield.

Riario watches Leonardo with interest. “Perhaps. I do not yet have insight into His great plan.” He leans back, pushing the plate away. “I've missed this,” he abruptly changes the subject.

“This?” Leonardo gestures between them, “As in us?”

“Yes. Us.” The count smiles at that. He likes that notion. Like they are a team. Two halves of a whole. “You know, me killing and you trying to work it all out. Even now I can almost hear your mind figuring out a way out of here.” He challenges the Florentine genius with his gaze.

Leonardo bursts into laughter, “Yes I am, but with you having killed all the guards that won’t be necessary for a while.” He wonders briefly why the fact that Riario had killed yet again so many doesn’t bother him when he  stops that thought abruptly. He himself had killed thousands of Turks with one lightning bolt. War gives everything such a different perspective. All these guards in here including the pope were his enemies too, Florence’s enemies. 

“And what about you, maestro?” Riario bends himself a little forward again, fixing Leonardo with his hard stare as the other rises to his feet again. “Now that you have finished _your_ task of stopping the Turkish invasion, what will you do? Search for your mother? Chase after another artefact? Marry Lucrezia Donati and live happily ever after?” he sneers.

“They’re both dead,” Leonardo says hollowly, trying not to get caught up in the emptiness again he had been feeling the previous days before he decided to travel to Rome. _Dead because of me._

At that the smirk drops from Girolamo's face and he feels some of his other self return. The side that cares for the other man as more than a friend against all odds. He moves his lips as he tries to form a polite response but in the end he gets up and walks up to Leonardo, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing softly in compassion, giving him a brief nod.

Leonardo looks at him in surprise, grateful for the gesture. After a few moments of gathering his thoughts he says contemplatively, "Lucrezia saved us from the Turks..."

Girolamo looks at Leonardo in surprise at that. “I see.” He turns his back to the artist as he thinks about everything that had happened, wondering about the crusade that he had abandoned for his own gruesome task. “We've all had to make great sacrifices,” he says grimly, thinking about Zita.

"That's why I destroyed my weapon factory in the first place," Leo muses. "Didn't want it multiplying, escalating." He scratches his beard, "And look at us now." He slumps into the chair Riario had just vacated.

Riario sighs. Before Da Vinci had shown up here his path had felt so clear, his divine calling so strong. But Da Vinci brings a sobriety with him that always manages to knock his conviction of its pedestal. A reasoning that he cannot seem to counter with his own. It's unsettling and yet exciting at the same time, for Leonardo never dismisses him as a fool but rather enjoys their passionate debates even if they disagree. It's not that he questions his actions so far. It's rather the what's next that feels just a little less comfortable than it had moments earlier when he had felt happy to leave his fate in the hands of a greater force than himself.

_Free will, Girolamo…_

He strides over to the papal throne placing his hands on the arms as he bends himself so close towards the arrogant genius that their noses practically touch. “Why did you have to come here?” he growls.

"I missed you," Leonardo blurts out, "You're the only one who understands me..." He has a hard time to not lean forward and capture the other's mouth with his. So he draws as far back as he can, even if it's mere inches, locking his gaze with those dark eyes, not wavering.

Riario feels a shiver rush down his spine. His breath feels heavy in his lungs suddenly as he struggles to process this rationally. He begins to laugh at the absurdity of it all. “I've just killed the Holy Father and whilst he grows cold still you come here to flirt with me?” He grabs Leonardo's tunic. “Are you fucking mental?!”

Leonardo doesn't even flinch since he'd expected a reaction like that. He grasps the murderer's lapels and hisses into his face, "Yes! Probably, just as you, Count!”

Riario blinks once then kisses the other man brutally.

“Fuck you, Da Vinci!” he slams his hands down on the arms of the throne, before stumbling backwards, rubbing his hands across his face.

Leonardo blinks, licking his lips, completely gobsmacked. "What was that?" he asks huskily, glued to the throne. His knuckles white from curling around the armrests so hard. He doesn't know what to think.

Since their adventure in the New World he has known he desires Count Girolamo Riario, very much so. He's like the perfect model for art, be it for a sculpture or a painting. He has the most athletic and inspiring body, the image of that toned chest forever burnt in his memory. But Leonardo had already forbidden himself to even consider going in that direction and give in to his body's desire. He only came here since he desperately needs a companion for his ever-restless mind to spar with. And now this ...

He stares at Girolamo wide eyed, waiting for an answer. His heart thrumming in his chest.

“You should go,” Riario groans, not looking at Leonardo. “The change of the guard will be here soon.”

"You will be coming with me," Leonardo gets to his feet, "I'm not letting you waste your life like this."

Girolamo draws his sword, pointing it at the man who confuses him like no other. “I'm not wasting my life!” he hisses. His normally steady hand quivers slightly. “You should not have come.”

He draws his weapon too though, sensing Riario's dangerous confusion. He takes a defensive stance. "How come that the sword of God just killed the Holy Father? That doesn't make sense to me,” he tries to snap the count out of his delusion.

“You _know_ my father was a fraud,” Riario snarls, taking a step towards the other. “I rid the world of that snake. And now,” he raises his sword a little, feeling himself waiver on the edge of his split self, “you have come here to _tempt_ me.”

“I did not come to tempt you,” Leonardo laughs softly. “But if you want a fight, you can have one,” he touches Riario’s sword lightly with his, suddenly feeling very tempted himself, wanting to measure his strength with the man of his desire, knowing he’s just as insane. _I’m challenging the Devil!_

Riario hesitates. He had not intended to actually fight the other man, knowing that whilst he is a skilled swordsman himself, Da Vinci is by far the better fighter. Nonetheless his pride stops him from dropping his weapon.

A grin spreads on his face as he takes another quick step forward and lets his blade clash loudly with the artist's.

 _“_ Show me what you’ve got, Sword of God,” Leonardo teases, grinning, showing the other man that this is just a game, just a test of skills. He keeps his left hand behind his back, not planning on revealing that trick just yet, attacking with two quick hits against Riario’s sharp blade.

The lord of Imola scowls, feeling like Leonardo is mocking him, and he attacks with an equally quick succession of blows, driving the Florentine back a good few steps under the pure ferocity of his blade, seeking to disarm him somehow. “Why didn't you just leave!” he snarls.

“Because I like to challenge you,” the war engineer parries each move with a skilled counter attack, now driving the count backwards again, enjoying his fighting style. He jumps over the corpse on the floor, getting to Riario from another angle.

“I cannot… do this … damn you!” Riario pants between their rapid moves, their boots moving as fast on the marble floor as their blades are.

"You can do it very well," Da Vinci is getting a little out of breath now too, leading them around the fully laden table, suddenly jumping onto it, letting his sword quickly poke his attacker's shoulder where he had failed to guard it.

“Not _this,_ you fool!” Riario hisses as his free hand shoots towards his shoulder, feeling the rip there and the trickle of blood that Leonardo had drawn. He turns and swipes at the other's legs but the artist manages to avoid him just, jumping over the lethal blade and back onto the floor. “I have… given… my life… to God!”

"Can't you loosen up a little, Rio?" Leonardo decides to use the name he's given the dangerous man in his head.

Girolamo actually laughs at that. “Wouldn't you like that!” he bites, his frustration giving him strength as he drives Leonardo towards the corner. “Don't entice me!” He raises his sword a fraction to bring it down with such force that Leonardo only just manages to block him.

 _I’ve tempted the Devil in the Sword of God._ The Florentine pushes back with his weapon, not liking to be cornered and as he does so, he steps swiftly forward beneath their raised blades and pulls Riario’s dagger from his belt with his other hand, pointing it towards his opponent’s throat. “Checkmate, count.”

Riario lets his sword drop to the floor with an obscene clang. A mad grin circles his lips. “Finish it, maestro,” he invites his end as he lifts his chin a little as he takes a tiny step forward, allowing the blade of his own dagger to press further against his throat. _Leonardo da Vinci is my executioner? Of course, how befitting._

Leonardo’s chest tightens when the count moves forward. _Don’t you dare kill yourself!_ He pulls the sharp knife back instantly and lets the weapons accompany Riario’s sword on the floor.

He grasps his opponent’s head roughly and kisses him just as hard as the other had done earlier.

Riario freezes at first. Even though their swords have ceased the battle within him rages on relentlessly. But he cannot push Leonardo away. Instead he finds himself clinging onto the other man with a desperate need until they both fall to their knees in their ferocious lip lock.

Riario’s hands are like claws around Leonardo’s biceps as he tightens the grip around his former enemy’s neck. The artist dares to slip his tongue inside Girolamo's mouth for a brief moment as they sink onto the hard tiles.

But he stops the kiss as abruptly as he'd started it and stares through the other's fringe, meeting his eyes, gasping heavily, not knowing what to do next.

“I cannot be with you like that,” Girolamo draws in a stuttering breath, his hands still in the other's hair though. “Do not ask that of me, Leonardo.”

Leonardo sighs a little and shakes his head, “I know.” He gives in to the temptation and strokes the unruly hair out of the count’s eyes, “I won’t ask that of you, Rio.” He sits back on his haunches, removing himself from the hands that are just too gentle. “I want you to know that I do desire you,” he drops his head and closes his eyes, crossing his fingers in his lap. “But I will not act on that, Girolamo.”

The count feels Leonardo's withdrawal from him stab more harshly than his knife, although his words give him hope. He knows time is running out. They have minutes now before the guards will discover their slaughtered colleagues and will come for him. _The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak… But what relationship can there be between us if not a physical one,_ he wonders. _You cannot ask that of him in turn …_ But the thought of never seeing Leonardo again after today, of not having him in his life, is suddenly unbearable and unthinkable. And whilst he's very aware that Leonardo is likely to reject him he has to at least voice how he feels about him before it's too late, even if it may not be enough.

“Ti voglio bene, Leonardo,” he whispers.

Leonardo’s head snaps up at that tender admission. He feels a sudden tear running down his temple as he reaches for the other’s hand and swallows thickly, “Then come with me.” He already can hear muffled noises coming from the entrance gate. “Please, I need your companionship much more than anything else,” he promises.

Girolamo throws a glance at the doors and then at his father's lifeless form as he makes his decision. He jumps to his feet and holds out his arm to Leonardo.

The artist clasps it firmly and lets himself be pulled up, his heart making a big leap. Their eyes locked for a moment until they pick up their steel as the first guards make it up the stairs.

“Where to?” Riario asks, the thrill of what now, rather than the end, is beginning to feel like a new adventure is reverberating through his chest.

"Out!" Leo laughs, " Lead the way Captain General," he says teasingly. "I assume you know some shortcuts I don't."

Girolamo grins, the awkwardness and the madness now under control. This is about survival. “Follow me,” he nods, already heading towards the secret passages that weave through the Vatican. He pushes several levers in what seems a random order but immediately the wall swivels back to reveal a narrow corridor behind. He steps aside and pushes Leo into the dark corridor, following swiftly behind. As soon as he has pulled the counter levers and the wall has slid back into place they can hear the entrance door being bashed open accompanied by lots of shouting.

He grins at Leonardo, taking one of the lit torches off the wall. “We need to hurry. There are few who know about this, but there are some.” He clasps Leo's arm briefly though, adding, “Promise me one thing.”

"What's that?" Leo tries to read Rio's face in the dim torch light, holding onto his forearm in turn.

“Don't you dare die for me, Da Vinci. I will not have you deprive the world of your genius for my sake. Italy needs you more than it needs me.”

Leonardo feels a blush creep up his neck at these words. "Nonsense," he says, "No more dying today." _I need you._ He winks.

Girolamo smiles at that and nods. “Let's go then,” he urges. He is decided now on his new divine goal. To get the already legendary Leonardo da Vinci out of here alive. For the world.

And perhaps, if it's God's will, for himself too.

**Author's Note:**

> Ti voglio bene - I love you  
> It literally means : I want you good or I want your good  
> It is less strong and yet sweeter than 'ti amo'  
> "Ti amo" has frequently a more physical and passionate implication, while 'ti voglio bene' deals with feelings. It is more used with siblings, parents and friends than with lovers. But it can also be used with lovers.
> 
> http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ti-voglio-bene-vs-ti-amo.4535/


End file.
